Not for Profit residential aged care, retirement village, community and disability care operator Whiddon is calling for a new model in aged care after a study showed the benefit of counselling services to residents with anxiety.
“The impacts of counselling services were evaluated over ten weeks at six of Whiddon’s care homes, where 170 residents received services from Primary Health Network designated mental health providers,” said Head of Strategy and Innovation at Whiddon, Karn Nelson.
The group used a mix of questionnaires measuring psychological distress, anxiety and depression, and qualitative insights gained from interviewing residents and employees.
“We saw that the one-on-one counselling services had a transformative effect on some residents’ lives, particularly for those with anxiety,” said Karn.
“Before the services were offered, about half of the resident cohort were in the high to very high range of psychological distress and the other half were low to moderate. The residents that had full data behind their treatment, around 62% saw an improvement in depressive symptoms, anxiety, quality of life, or in psychological distress.”
Ms Nelson said the funding and easy access to PHN services was initially only available for 18 months.
With many benefits – and few costs – the researchers are now pushing for the services to be maintained and potentially fully integrated into a new model for aged care.
We certainly back the need for more funding in this area.
